Journalism and public interest. An analysis of the plurality and balance of sources in the news production of Agência Câmara Notícias

Abstract

In a reality of extremism, access to information is essential for deliberation. In this context, the relationship between journalism and democracy is highlighted (McQuail, 2012). For this relationship to be realized, the public interest must be a principle of journalistic production (Kovach and Rosenstiel, 2004). Rothberg (2011) and Serrano (2011) argue for the plurality and balance of sources as factors of public interest in journalism. This article analyzes the content of public interest in the production of Agência Câmara Notícias, the communication vehicle of the Chamber of Deputies, in Brazil. The data indicate that the realization of the public interest through the plurality of sources hardly occurs in at least 75.5% of the news and that the sources linked to the coalition of parties in power appear four times more than those related to the opposition parties.